hondas are kings at reliability, but i was wondering how long a 3 series bimmer or any other BMs will last. I know most accords will last longer than 150k miles, what about a BM? accords maintaince are kinda cheap, what about 3 series? the 3 series are not so expensive, u can find then for around 4-10Ks.

 

Never owned one but I have some friends who bought an early 90's beamer for their daughter. The thing was a nightmare. I don't know any specifics but as a former car parts guy I do know that they're very expensive to maintain. On the other hand their daughter got in a pretty nasty wreck and was fine. I would assume also it depends on whether you get the base model or a new BMW M3, thirty grand better buy you something.

 

Well I have owned my 93 318is since 94. When I bought it I didn't know much about cars. I had only owned hondas and acuras previously. It was shortly after a serious car accident, and since I could only use one leg to drive (at that time) I bought an automatic. Big mistake!!! It currrently has 135k on the odo, and I'm on the third tranny. I can't speak for the manual trannys, but I never had any problems with the auto accord I owned. I have a very loyal mechanic that has done almost all of the work on the car (except for the first tranny replacement), and he said that he would buy a honda/acura over a bimmer anyday. He said it's not necessarily the reliability, but more the cost of maintenance/repair. I couldn't agree more. And if you plan on working on it yourself be prepared to spend some $$$ on BMW specific tools. Other major problems were: head gasket, electrical system problems, rear diff, & every time I had to put brakes on it..it needed new rotors.

I have a very good job these days, and could afford a new M3(which I have test driven & loved), but I'll put it this way...I drive a 91 civic hatch. I love the idea of building my own car & working on it myself. Honda parts are so cheap! Anyway this is just my experience....good luck with your future purchase.

Oh, and by the way, if you want to come to Maryland I'll sell you mine!

 

whats that saying? "if you cant afford to buy a new bimmer, you cant afford a used bimmer"

 

I have an Accord and a BMW 5. Here are my observations:

1. BMW's have lousy electrical systems. Constantly replacing bulbs. Fog light sockets were defective. Honda has outstanding electrical system. Not a problem in 11 years.

2. BMW engine and handling are second to none. I drive from LA to Vegas all the time. Much less tired driving the BMW. With Honda, I am shot.

3. BMW will pay for your maintenance for 50K miles (if you buy new). Honda will not. Aftwards, my estimation is that BMW will cost about 35% more to maintain than Honda. Of course, you will definitely have more repairs cuz the quality is not as good as Hondas.

4. Both retain value very well.

5. People "accord" you more respect on the road when you have a BMW. It's like they will get out of your way cuz you scare them. With the Accord, I have people flipping me off, people trying to run me off the road, people tailgating me, honking...just plain obnoxious. Of course, the rice racers always want to race you.

6. But, when you get pulled over by Smokey when you drive your BMW, you are toast. With an Accord, you can always pull your poor student stuff out and they might even let you go.

In summary, here is what you should do:

Accord for daily driving. A Z4 for fun. You'll be stying.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by propwdialogue &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">whats that saying? "if you cant afford to buy a new bimmer, you cant afford a used bimmer" </TD></TR></TABLE>

i thought i heard that somewhere

&lt;--- 00 E46, 93 Accord, 86 Accord

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by aznpymp &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">BMW vs Accord reliability</TD></TR></TABLE>

Man did you evar come to the wrong site to dispute this. What does teh site name say.... bimmer-tech.com??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TxTuner &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

say.... bimmer-tech.com?? </TD></TR></TABLE>

naw that would be

http://www.dtmpower.net

creators of the mischief vids

 

***whats that saying? "if you cant afford to buy a new bimmer, you cant afford a used bimmer***

That's about right. Once a BMW gets past a point, it becomes a Chevy,
reliabilty-wise. I went through two e30 3ers, and an e28 5er in the last ten years.
What I can tell you is that with those cars, it was ALWAYS something. Electrical system quirks being the most frequent problem. Oh, and I had to replace a lot of "guibos" or driveshaft flex couplings over that time to get rid of drivetrain shudder. The 5er had a chronic overheating problem for the last two years AFTER replacing the radiator, numerous hoses, a water pump, and several thermostats. Was also constantly replacing clutch hydraulics in these cars, not to mention the actual clutches. Each of those cars nickel and dimed me to death. I finally sold the 5er and bought my '91 Accord wagon. It's a different world, I tell you.

Sometimes I miss the acceleration of the 5er, but I don't miss the quirkiness of it all. I can count on getting in my 202K Accord wagon and going where I need to without any drama. Did I mention GAS MILEAGE?

I will say that if I could afford a LATE MODEL or NEW BMW, then hell yes, I'd be right back in one. But given my finances, my Accord is the way to go. Plus it'a a wagon, and I can haul my Carvin full stack, (guitar amp) half a dozen guitars, and other related gear in it. Try doing THAT in any BMW besides an X5. (I would never be caught dead in a minivan or SUV...)

 

A lot of my friends have bad luck with their bimmers. my friend's 1999 328i with 80k on it is already messed up due to big tranny problems

 

Go to someplace like consumerreports.org or edmunds.com. These guys have reliability ratings for the past 10 years or so on different areas of the car.

 

BMW's are nice, but you are paying for name! Reliablity just plain sucks! I have a friend that owns a 330ci, what a complete POS! That car has been in the shop more time than I can count on my hand and that car is only 8 months old. So many electrical problems, and even the molding around the door is falling off. Granted, it is a BMW, and may not be in the same class as an Accord, but when you look at the fully loaded Accord and compare it to the 330ci, my money goes to the Accord! Same goes for Mercedes, VW and Audi, all the electrical systems suck!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iobidder &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">BMW's are nice, but you are paying for name! Reliablity just plain sucks! I have a friend that owns a 330ci, what a complete POS! That car has been in the shop more time than I can count on my hand and that car is only 8 months old. So many electrical problems, and even the molding around the door is falling off. Granted, it is a BMW, and may not be in the same class as an Accord, but when you look at the fully loaded Accord and compare it to the 330ci, my money goes to the Accord! Same goes for Mercedes, VW and Audi, all the electrical systems suck!</TD></TR></TABLE>

You sir no absolutely nothing about cars. Try driving a BMW first the compare it to an accord.. Look I love my accord, but in comparrison to the E46 there isnt any.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bagged93accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">creators of the mischief vids</TD></TR></TABLE>

BTW, how are those videos?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TxTuner &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

BTW, how are those videos?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Awesome vids Mostly from the players run, they kick ***. You should grab one.

 

I agree w/ bagged93accord in the fact that driving a bimmer is like nothing else. It is very easy to go very fast w/o knowing it. When I'm driving my hatchie, or my girl's 97 accord for that matter, I always can tell how fast I'm going. Which as far as my driving record goes...is a good thing! I guess the answer to your question is to drive both cars yourself (test drives are free!), and make your own decision. Another thing to consider is whether or not your are going to want to modify it. Quality aftermarket parts for bimmers are very expensive compared to their honda counterparts.

I've seen alot of input from people on here who have never owned a bimmer, and therefore are biased. Myself & the others who have actually owned them can testify that they are an expensive endeavor. But I can honestly say that driving my hatch seems like work sometimes (no pwr steering, lowered, hard bushings) , where as my girl's accord is not a bad driving experience @ all. It's comfortable, quiet, & has decent pep. good luck & let us know what you get when you get it!

 

My friend has a '95 M3 and he absolutely loves it. He can't afford the maintence on it so he does it himself. Has had a couple of things go bad and there's no question it's much more expensive to maintain but I think the driving excitement you get from it more than justifies the expense. I love my accord, but it's no BMW. The ideal solution would be to have both cars!

 

I have a 97 integra and a 93 bmw 325i. I have gone through two engines in my integra and other crap with it. The only problem with the bmw was the clutch went out but i was expecting it to. My bmw has 130,xxx on it now and runs just as strong. Like other people are saying it is a very enjoyable car to drive. I let my friend drive and he loved it. He said he finally understood why i liked the bimmer. I think to truly understand the bimmer you have to drive one. On a side note my stock 325i beat my friends modified 2000 civic si. This is with two 12's in my trunk.

 

Why even compare the two?? They aren't the same class of car. Not meaning class as in status, but class as in type. The BMWs have been engineered as they are now for a long time. Hondas have been engineered differently. Notice the price difference? Notice the comments and ratings from the professionals, you know... Car & Driver, Road & Track... not the non-professionals who populate forums such as this one. Not shooting down those who post to this forum, but the pros are paid to test, have tested in many cases longer than some forum posters have been alive!
Jeez...

 

Screw BMW.

Yesteday, my a/c and heater died.

It's an electrical problem which--I believe iit's in my control panel.

It's still under warranty. Just a 2001 with 40K miles on it.

The French make the best airliners. The Japanese make the best automobiles. Germans make the best tanks.

Americans make the best nuclear weapons.

And, if you don't listen to us, we'll ruin your day. See Iraq.

 

Owning a bmw is like owning a vw or audi. People only buy them for the bling factor. A bmw will get you more dates if it looks halfway decent but you have to spend out the *** to keep it on the road.
A honda will save you lots of money over the years and will last hundreds of thousands of miles without anything going wrong whatsoever. I have an accord with 195k and it runs like new and has never had any problems or anything replaced......besides oil.

 

my friends 325i was eating parts like candy.. he now has an audi a4 quattro. thats 2 for 2.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phoenixitc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not the non-professionals who populate forums such as this one. Not shooting down those who post to this forum, but the pros are paid to test, have tested in many cases longer than some forum posters have been alive!
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Are you saying that writers for those publications couldnt be members here?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b18crx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Owning a bmw is like owning a vw or audi. People only buy them for the bling factor. A bmw will get you more dates if it looks halfway decent but you have to spend out the *** to keep it on the road.
A honda will save you lots of money over the years and will last hundreds of thousands of miles without anything going wrong whatsoever. I have an accord with 195k and it runs like new and has never had any problems or anything replaced......besides oil. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yet another comment from someone who has never owned a BMW.

 

I have 1976 BMW 2002, 1983 BMW 320i and 1992 Honda Accord. The 2002 one is my 'hobby' car and I use both 320i and Accord as my daily drivers. Accord has 180k miles and runs great. I have traveled all over the country with the Accord and it is a terrific car. My 320i never fail on me as of yet - it has 130k miles. I am currently rebuilding 2002 engine and hopefully to get it on road in a month. you asking me which bmw or honda is better. I would say they both are great in different ways. Accord is good for smooth and soft ride where you can take your grandmother or family to places. BMW is a car where you would want to drive around the town and the engine rumbles (the ultimate engine). BMW drives tighter and has somewhat sporty feel. Accord is looser and smoother yet solid. I would say that Accord is more reliable but BMW is not far behind. Like Honda parts, if you shop around for parts, you can find decent prices for BMW parts. Ideally, one would have both - one BMW and one Honda and you can drive either one depending on your mood, events and how you wake up in the morning. I am amateur mechanic and I love working on both cars (honda and BMWs as they all are easy to work with).